The Jealous Alchemist
by ThePsychedelicBean
Summary: Once again,the Elric brother's search for the Philosopher's Stone has been stalled to run errands for Colonel Mustang this boring mine inspection, however,turns out to be anything but. Soon,the two brothers find themselves in the custody of a secret terrorist organization called The True Military. As time passes, the brothers start to wonder if they will ever get their bodies back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey people! So this is my first Fanfic (Obviously since it's at the bottom of my profile) I'm kinda just experimenting right now so feel free to give me any feedback or criticisms. I'm rating this M for now because of Ed's mouth (someone should really buy him a bar of soap or something) and because I'm planning on making this story kind of violent later on. If you can't stand violence please do yourself a favor and don't read this story. Well, I think I've done enough blabbing. So without further ado, I present _The Jealous Alchemist._**

* * *

"That bastard!" screamed the famous Edward Elric as he stormed out of his superior's office. "Can't an alchemist take a break in this place?"

"It's not that bad brother," said the ever-patient Alphonse, who until that point had been silently trailing his older brother like always. "At least East City is close to Resembool, and after we're done there we can go visit Granny and Winry."

"Yeah, cause the first thing I want to do after a stupid mine inspection is listen to Winry lecture me on taking better care of my automail."

Alphonse sighed. This wasn't the first conversation like this that he'd had with his brother. In fact, every time the two left Colonel Mustang's office it seemed like they had the exact same conversation. "Well you should take a little more care of it." At that, smaller Elric glared up at his younger brother, signaling that the suit of armor should shut up or risk losing an arm.

After that, the two walked in silence towards their dorms. What the older brother didn't get was why he had to go and not one of the other fully capable State Alchemists from Eastern Command. Just because he was the youngest State Alchemist in history, didn't mean he had to inspect every mine in Amestris. Plus, he had better things to do besides run around doing errands for the Colonel Bastard. He and Al had to get their bodies back, and that wasn't going to happen while inspecting a damn mine.

"Uh...Major Elric sir?" The tiny, breathless voice brought Ed out of his thoughts and back to his life, which thoroughly sucked at the moment.

"Yes?" The young turned around and was greeted by a saluting officer with her brown hair pulled back in the standard bun of an Amestrian secretary.

The woman stood there saluting the alchemist for a few seconds before realizing that she had been addressed. "I'm sorry sir this is my first day and I'm still trying to get the hang of things. May I please be pardoned for my lack of attention?"

Edward stared at the woman with an annoyed expression. He really was not in the mood to deal with the formal language of the military. "Yeah sure…" the alchemist trailed off when he noticed the single suitcase that the woman was holding in her left hand.

He immediately knew that it was from that bastard of a Colonel. Just one final jab before sending his subordinate to hell and back. Noting Ed's change of mood, the woman decided to explain. "Colonel Mustang told me to give this to you. He said that he wanted you to catch the very next train to East City and didn't want you to have to waste time packing, sir."

"Yeah, I'm sure he did" Ed grumbled before accepting the suitcase and turning to storm away. "Come on Al. Wouldn't want to miss the train that the Colonel so kindly bought us tickets for."

A tiny "Thank you ma'am," and the clinking of metal on tile told the older boy that his brother was following him. At least Al would always be there for him, Ed thought. With that, the two brothers walked out of Central Command and turned right towards hell.

* * *

Colonel Mustang let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and sat back in his chair. He could still hear the young alchemist complaining about his latest assignment to his younger brother. It wasn't like Mustang enjoyed giving these assignments to his youngest subordinate. How could you enjoy being in the same room with a short-tempered destruction factory?

But, no matter how unpleasant these meetings were, they were necessary. In order for the Colonel to move up through the ranks, he had to seem like an obedient little puppy. If that meant sending Ed on a million mine inspections, then he'd happily oblige. Plus, it would keep the little runt out of his hair for a couple days.

Mustang turned in his chair to face the intercom and place his finger on the talk button. "Sarah?" he asked.

"Colonel Mustang, sir." Came surprised voice from the other end. The secretary probably didn't expect the colonel to actually remember her name.

"Would you be so kind as to grab the Fullmetal Alchemist's suitcase from his room and deliver it to him? It would be a pity if he had to miss his train because he was too busy packing."

"Yes sir! Right away." With that Mustang turned back to face the mountain of paperwork that had somehow magically appeared on his desk. With a sigh, he grabbed his pen and silently got to work on the humongous pile.

* * *

It seemed like eons before the door of Colonel Mustang's office finally opened, revealing Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. After seeing his friend, Colonel Mustang set his pen down, bracing himself for the inevitable flood of family photos that was sure to follow. After a moment, however, Mustang noticed the serious expression on his friend's face.

"Roy, please tell me that you didn't send Ed to East City yet." Out of all the things that his friend could've said, that was the last thing Roy Mustang expected him to say.

"Yeah, he and Al left earlier today." After another look at the other man, Roy continued. "Why? Maes, what's wrong?"

Hughes walked over to the desk and added something to the significantly smaller stack of paper there. Mustang picked up the paper and realized that it was a newspaper. The colonel gave a wary glance to his friend before looking at the headline.

 ** _Threats Made to the Fullmetal Alchemist_**

 _Today at precisely 700 hours, fifteen-year-old Lucas McHugh was arrested for allegedly conspiring against the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. After being interrogated by members of the military at Eastern Command, McHugh confessed that he did indeed plan to harm the Fullmetal Alchemist. During the interrogation, McHugh also hinted at the idea of there being more conspirators, but wouldn't elaborate._

 _While being taken back to his cell, McHugh activated a transmutation circle that he had been drawing on his handcuffs, and was able to escape while killing several officers in the process. His estimated location is East City, but if anyone is to come into contact with Lucas McHugh, they are advised to immediately contact their local military._

"Shit." That was all that the Colonel could manage to say after reading that article. How could he have been so stupid? His subordinate could get hurt, even killed, and all because he didn't read his stupid morning paper today! Sure, Fullmetal was a pain in his ass, and he deserved a punch in the face every once in a while, but the kid definitely didn't deserve to die because the older man neglected to properly research the events of East City before sending him there.

"It's nothing to worry about yet, Roy." Said Hughes. "Edward is smart. He wouldn't let some amateur alchemist do anything to him without a fight. Plus, he has Alphonse with him. I doubt it would be easy to harm Edward with Al around."

That much was true at least. The two brothers were good at getting out of life or death situations unharmed. Plus, it would be pretty hard to capture a 6-foot-tall suit of armor. Even with the rational part of his brain trying to reason with him, Colonel Mustang couldn't help but come up with a long list of 'What ifs.'

Quitting time came soon, and Mustang had yet to get any more work done since Hughes had left his office. Even as he drove home, Roy knew that he wouldn't get any sleep tonight either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own the plot, a laptop, and a really dark mind.**

* * *

The train ride to East City was a long one. Neither brother had spoken since they boarded the train, and Alphonse wasn't going to be the first to speak. He knew that his brother was infuriated that they had to stop searching for the Philosophers Stone just to inspect a silly mine. They both wanted to get their bodies back so bad. They wanted to leave this life where if Colonel Mustang ordered Ed to kill a man, he would have to do so, or risk insubordination. They wanted to get back to the sunny summer days of Resembool, and the carefree lifestyle that they once had. But that could never happen. Too much had changed for the two brothers to go back to the lives they used to live.

After what seemed like an eternity the train finally stopped at the station in East City. "It's about time." Grumbled Ed.

The two brothers stood up, and Ed moved to grab his suitcase from the compartment above their seats. Alphonse could barely fight back the laughter that wanted to escape after Ed realized he was too short to reach it. "Dammit!" the smaller brother grumbled along with some other choice curse words.

"Let me get it brother." Alphonse easily reached up to the compartment and pulled the suitcase down. Ed just glared at the suitcase and grumbled a "Thanks" before taking the suitcase and stalking off the train.

This time Al didn't even try to suppress his laughter. Ed didn't like to be called short by anyone, or have it pointed out by anything. Honestly in was a surprise that this older brother didn't try to pick a fight with the poor compartment.

Alphonse was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the tiny woman until they collided. Luckily it takes more than a bump to knock over a suit of armor, and Al remained standing. The woman, however, was not so lucky. Her suitcase was open, its contents lay sprawled across the aisle. A few golden strands had fallen out of her once perfect bun, and she was currently on hands and knees searching for her lost glasses.

Immediately Al bent over and picked up her glasses to return them. "I'm so sorry ma'am," the suit of armor apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Oh no it was my fault," said the woman, putting her glasses back on. "I can barely see anything, even with these glasses. I think it's time I get some new ones. I'm Elara by the way, Elara Powell."

"I'm Alphonse Elric."

"Wait," Elara looked star struck. "Alphonse Elric, like, THE Alphonse Elric? The brother of the Fullmetal Alchemist?"  
"Um, yeah." It had been three years since Ed had joined the army and become the famous "Fullmetal Alchemist," but Al was still surprised every time they can into contact with strangers that knew who they were.

"Is this for real? You two are like my idols! I'm an alchemist too you see, and I've always wanted to meet the famous Elric brothers. Wow, I can't believe this is actually happening. Would you mind showing me some of your alchemy?"

"Oh…uh…sure. It's nothing much. Ed is way more impressive than I am, though." Elara didn't look like she cared about that though, so Al took out the piece of chalk that he always carried with him and got to work drawing a transmutation circle. It didn't take more than a few seconds to draw the circle. It was simple alchemy after all. He could do it in his sleep. If he could sleep.

When the suit of armor was done, the woman watched in awe as he placed his hands on the circle and blue transmutation sparks lite up the area. When the sparks cleared, the two could see a tiny wooden bird that sat in a new divot in the floor. Elara picked up the bird and admired Alphonse's creation. The bird was complete with a crank that made the wings flap when turned, and an engraving with Al's name. It was definitely an improvement from the pathetic wooden horses he and Ed used to make.

"You can keep it if you'd like." Alphonse told the woman. "I don't have much of a use for it anyways."

"Thank you so much," He could've just imagined this, but it seemed as if Elara seemed a bit distracted when she responded to Alphonse. "I'll keep this for- "

"Alphonse!" Elara was interrupted by the sound of Ed bursting through the door of the train car, a blade already transmuted to his right arm. "Alphonse, are you okay? I saw the alchemic lightning, and I…" Ed trailed off, noticing the woman on the ground. "Who's that?"

"Oh. My. God!" Elara looked like she was about to pass out. "It's-it's actually the Fullmetal Alchemist! I can't believe it!"

Elara tried to stand up, but one of her heels got stuck in the new created divot in the floor, and she tumbled back down the floor, sending her glasses flying once again. Both brothers rushed toward the woman, trying to catch her. They reached her at the same time, and collided. The force of the impact sent Ed flying, while Al landed unceremoniously on his butt with Elara on his legs. The three were all so caught up in the scene that none of them noticed the tiny cat that left through the back door of the train car.

"Damn that hurt." Complained Ed, rubbing his head. "You alright lady?"

Elara was already on her knees, looking for her lost glasses. After realizing that Ed's question was directed to her, she answered. "Huh? Oh, yes I'm fine. I just need to find my glasses."

It only took a few more seconds of searching before Elara's hand found her glasses. As she put them on, she tried to stand, and Ed rushed over to help her up. "Thank you so much Mr. Elric. Both of you. You have no idea how much this encounter means to me. I'll never forget this day."

With that, the woman grabbed her suitcase and the bird Al made her, and made her way toward the exit. "You're staying in East City for a while I presume?" Before either of the brothers could respond the woman continued. "I hope we will run into each other again."

Then she was gone, leaving the Elric's alone in the train car. "Let's go Al, I'm getting kinda hungry. You don't have to come if you don't want to." Ed knew how much Al longed to eat something, and didn't want to put the suit of armor through any more pain than he had to.

"Okay," said Al, not wanting to leave his brother, but also not wanting to watch him slurp down bowls of noodles. "I'll just check in with Eastern Command and let them know we're here"

With that, the brothers exchanged goodbyes and, went their separate ways. In some ways Al was glad that he wouldn't have to watch Ed devour the entire stock of some unsuspecting restaurant. But the younger Elric also felt a sense of dread in his soul. Ed definitely had a knack for getting himself into trouble, and something felt off in this town. What if something happened?

No. Al was just being paranoid. Nothing was going to happen. This was going to be like all the other mine inspections the brothers had gone through. They'd finish up in a few days, and they'd leave completely unscathed, ready to pursue the Philosopher's Stone again.

Al's thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched scream. The suit of armor sprinted towards the sound, causing citizens in the street to move or risk getting plowed over. Al could only hope that his brother had heard the sound too, and was rushing to the same spot.

Eventually Al slowed to a walk, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the scream. Only when he passed by an alley did he find the source. She didn't look like she could've been any older than 10. She was probably an orphan too, considering there didn't seem to be any adults looking for her.

Al took a step towards the girl. The metallic clank that followed alerted the girl to his presence, and she turned to look at him. It looked like she had been crying. Tears stained her puffy cheeks, and her blown eyes were bloodshot. Other than that, she seemed to be alright. "Um, are you okay?" Al asked.

"No," the girl tried to compose herself, but a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek as she talked. "Mr. Fluffy was chasing a mouse and he…he climb up there," she pointed to a fire escape where, like she said, an orange tabby cat with and automail leg sat looking down on the two. "And…and…and now he won't come down!" As she finished, the girl broke into a loud sob.

Alphonse was flustered to say the least. Sure, he could get along with literally any living creature, and maybe he was the politest person on the face of the planet, but Alphonse Elric could not stand crying children. He just couldn't bare seeing any creature that could bring so much joy to the world in this much pain.

Despite his discomfort, however, Alphonse knelt down as gently as a suit of armor could next to the girl. "It's okay, I can't get Mr. Fluffy down from there."

The girl sniffled, but turned back to face the armor, eyes wide. "Really? You could do that?"

Looking into the girl's tear-filled eyes made all trace of discomfort leave Al's soul. Something about the girl reminded him of Nina. The way she looked at him with those wide hopeful eyes that were all too trusting, and she how she seemed so optimistic even when she was in despair. If Al could cry, he would've been soaked. "Yeah, just give me a second."

Al stood up, and pulled out the piece of chalk that he always kept with him. He quickly scribbled down the appropriate transmutation circle, and then activated it. The ground below him stretched until the alchemist was face to face with the orange tabby. "Hello there, I'm going to help you get down now. You can hop on my back it you'd like."

The cat did as he was told, and hopped onto Alphonse, resulting in a clank of metal as it's automail leg made contact with the armor. Within seconds, the newly created tower was deconstructed, and the two were back on the ground. "Here you go." Alphonse said, handing the cat over to the little girl.

The girl's eyes lit up as she reached to take the cat. "Thank you so much Mr.- "

"Alphonse. My name is Alphonse."

"I'm Anika, and I'm so glad you got Mr. Fluffy down for me. Mr. Fluffy and I both thank you for being so kind."

"It's no problem really. I'm just happy I could help." Al didn't know how much time had passed, but he figured that Ed would be nearly finished by now. If he wasn't at Eastern Command before Ed got there, his brother would be worried. "Well, I should go now. Try not to get stuck again little guy." Al reached down to pet the orange tabby one last time before he turned and walked away.

* * *

Anika was still standing there in the alley, staring at the suit of armor as he departed. She noted how the loud clanging of metal on the ground seemed to drown out the softer uneven one behind it. The girl watched in silence as the tiny tabby slowly approached Alphonse. She did nothing to alert him as the once helpless feline lunged toward the unnoticed transmutation circles on the armors legs. She even smiled as the metal legs blew to bits, leaving the rest of the boy's body to fall helplessly to the ground.

"Ahh! What happened? Help! Somebody help!" Anika watched as the hollow boy clawed at the ground, trying to escape. But that would not happen. They'd been planning this exact moment out for years. There was no hope for this boy, or his brother.

The cat stalked closer to the armor. He was in no hurry. You could only go so far without legs after all. Plus, the transmutation circles had already been drawn on the arms. Elara made sure of that. Yes, there was no way that the Elric brothers were leaving East City.

The cat finally decided to pounce, making both arms explode just as the legs had. Having no other means of staying upright, the suit of armor clanked uselessly to the ground. "You people are going to be in big trouble when my brother gets here!"

"Oh, are we now? Well then I guess we'd better be on the lookout." Everyone turned their heads toward the man who seemed to have magically appeared from within the shadows.

Anika smiled wider when she saw who it was. "Did I do good Lucas?" the tiny girl sprinted toward the older boy and embraced him in a hug.

"You were great Anika." Lucas smiled down at the girl in his arms.

"Um, excuse me!" Everyone's was once again drawn to the limbless Alphonse. "Would like to explain to me what exactly is happening?"

Lucas set the girl back on the ground, and moved to kneel next to the armor. "I truly am sorry Alphonse. We like to avoid harming civilians if it's possible. Unfortunately, this encounter was not preventable. You see, your brother is the one we're really after, and once we're done with him you are free to leave. However, we have been studying him for a while now, and Edward can be somewhat," he paused, trying to search for the right word. "Destructive at times. So while we could've still acquired your brother without you, we figured we could lose a few less men with this method."

"And what do you want with Ed?" Lucas's once kind eyes were clouded with anger, and he abruptly stood up at turned away from Alphonse, leaving the armor to look at the back of his raven black hair.

"What do I want with your brother you ask?" His voice, too, was tinted with a deep hatred. "We want justice." When he said we, dozens of figures started to step out of the shadows. "You see Alphonse," Lucas turned to face the armor once again. "All of us are highly skilled alchemists, much like you and your brother. The difference between us, however, is that all of us took the state alchemist exam, and for one reason or another we all failed."

Lucas knelt down next to Alphonse once again. Somewhere in the middle of his spiel the murderous look had disappeared from the mans eyes and was replaced with the much gentler from earlier. "But you see Alphonse, none of this makes any sense. All of us have skills on an equal level, maybe even higher, as a state alchemist. It's not right that one of two people with equal skill is turned down while the other is greatly rewarded. But do not fret, we will get our revenge on all of them. We will show all of the state alchemists what true power looks like!"

"Brother is a good fighter! He will never to captured by you people!"

"Oh, but that is where you're wrong Alphonse. Once your brother finds out we know about that little blood seal of yours, he won't put up much of a fight at all."

"How do you-"

"Alphonse!" Al's question was interrupted by his brother's frantic call.

"Ah, just as planned." Lucas smiled, but it was a cold, cruel smile. "Elara, you know what to do." With that, the woman from the train walked up to the suit of armor and threw a dark sack over his head and breast plate, and the world went dark.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry that the end of this chapter seems kind of rushed. I wrote most of the chapter on Saturday, and waited until about an hour ago to finish the chapter. I'll try to edit this chapter in place of another chapter next week since I'll be on a mission trip without Wi-Fi this week. I'll try to make the next chapter 5 million times better. Well anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter and will continue to read my story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own the plot, a laptop, and a really dark mind.**

* * *

Ed was thoroughly pissed. He was pissed that he to delay his research on the Philosopher's Stone. He was pissed that he had to be inspecting another damn mine. He was pissed that he and Al were separated right now. And most importantly, he was pissed that before he could start on his third bowl of noodles, he heard a high-pitched scream.

That honestly wouldn't have been a problem on a day like today if he didn't know that Al would be rushing to the source. On any other totally sucky day like today, Ed would've been perfectly content to devour at least 10 more bowls of noodles without even worrying if something was wrong, but Al wasn't like that. Al was selfless, kind, and a way better person than Ed was.

"Dammit." Ed had to protect his younger brother, since there was no one left that could do that for him.

After slamming 200 cenz on the table, the older Elric grabbed his notorious red jacket and stormed out of the restaurant. _This better be important Alphonse,_ the blond thought. _Or else I'll kill you._

* * *

Colonel Mustang threw open the door to his outer office nearly an hour later than he should've, completely ignoring the various concerned glances from his various subordinates. They were all concerned for the obviously sleep deprived Colonel, and the two Elric's. Even Hawkeye spared Mustang the murderous glare and agonizing lecture that usually followed his tardiness.

"Hughes came in looking for you sir," the blond lieutenant offered instead. "He's waiting for you in your office."

Mustang offered a muffled "thanks" before throwing open the thick door of his inner office and sauntering in. Just like Hawkeye had said, Roy found Lieutenant Colonel Hughes ruffling through reports on one of the couches in the room. After noticing his friend's presence, the Lieutenant Colonel promptly placed his papers on the table and turned towards Roy. "Any word from them?"

"No," Roy couldn't stop the dread from spreading through his body as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "Alphonse should've called by now."

Maes' usually cheerful face was warped into one of deep concern. Al _always_ called. It wasn't in the younger Elric's soul to let Mustang and his team worry, so he would always call. Even if his brother protested the action.

"Maybe Ed wanted to get a head start on the inspection." His friend's preposition made Roy laugh.

"Yes, because he seemed so excited to receive the order in the first place."

"Okay, well maybe they ran into someone they knew and lost track of time." After seeing Roy's doubtful expression, the Lieutenant Colonel added, "You did used to be stationed there."

"Fullmetal didn't have many friends in East City."

"Cut me a break Roy." The Colonel purposefully avoided the eye contact that his friend was trying to establish. "Ed is an intelligent and highly skilled alchemist. Even if he did come into contact with these people, he wouldn't go down without taking most of them with him. Plus, it's kind of hard to even touch Ed with a six-foot-tall suit of armor by his side. So, I'm sorry if I'm trying to be optimistic about this situation, and not wallowing in my own self-pity."

Hughes was right, like he usually was. Ed was more than capable of defending himself. Honestly, the Colonel felt sorry for any soul unlucky enough to pick a fight with the famous Edward Elric. But then why was there a feeling of sickening dread in the pit of his stomach?

"I still don't like the idea of those two so close to danger. I'm going to talk to the Fuhrer about getting them out of there."

"Be careful Roy." That was all that the Colonel let his friend say before closing the door of his inner office and making the long trek to the office of Fuhrer King Bradley.

* * *

The closer Ed came to the source of the scream, the more anxious he became. He couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad had happened. The only thing was, there was no destruction. All the buildings were whole, and there was no debris littering the air. In fact, this seemed like a completely normal day. So then why did it feel so wrong?

Ed couldn't help but notice the fact that he didn't hear the telltale metal clanking of his younger brother. Maybe Al hadn't heard the scream? He was probably already at Eastern Command making that call to Mustang that he always insisted on making every time the two brothers went some- _BANG!_

Ed was ripped out of his thoughts by an explosion, and what sounded suspiciously like ripping metal. "Al?"

The older Elric immediately picked up his pace. Buildings blurred as Ed sprinted passed them, desperate to get to his little brother. Another explosion rang out, and Ed called out to his brother. "Alphonse!" Whoever was stupid enough to harm the famous Edward Elric's little brother was in for a very unpleasant surprise, and maybe a couple missing fingers.

The young alchemist transmuted his metal arm into a blade, and rounded the corner of the alley only to stop dead in his tracks. There was no one there. Cautiously, Ed walked forward. It seemed like any other alley. There was a dumpster lining one of the buildings that reeked of rotting garbage, and lots of bricks darkened with mold.

However, there was something that caught the older Elric's eye. Ed took a cautionary step forward, and knelt down next to the hundreds of tiny steel shards on the ground. He would know that steel anywhere. "Al?" he whispered, and at the same time and figure appeared from out of the shadows.

"Well, well," alerted to the new presence behind him, Ed immediately stood un and turned to face the voice. "If it isn't the Fullmetal Alchemist. What can I say? I thought you'd be taller, although all of my sources have told be that your height doesn't match your title."

Who was he to talk? The boy standing in front of Ed didn't look much older than he was, and he wasn't much taller either. "Where's my brother you bastard?"

A smile was suddenly splayed across the boy's face, but his blue eyes were tinged with madness. "How did I know that you would ask that? It seems as though my sources were not wrong."

Ed took a step closer to the blond boy, anger swelling inside him. "Listen to me you smug bastard, you seem to know who you're dealing with, so let me be blunt with you. You tell me where my brother is, and I don't rip out your guts to sell as cow meat."

The boy laughed. That smug bastard actually had the never to laugh at him! It was all Ed could do not to follow through with his promise then and there.

"You see Ed, that won't happen. You're going to come with us, and you're going to come willingly."

"Like hell I will!" Who did this guy think he was?

"Oh you will, because we happen to know about a certain little blood seal." Ed stopped in his tracks. How did they know about the blood seal? "I thought so. Now why don't we get rid of that silly little blade don't we?"

After a moment of hesitation, Ed clapped his hands together and returned his automail to its original position. "Ah very good. Go ahead Frank."

Ed looked around, trying to place a face to the bringer of his doom, but older Elric couldn't find a face before a transmutation was activated, and a dirt cage arose around him.

The older boy walked closer to Ed, and he could swear that the air was getting thinner in his personal prison. "How rude? It seems as though I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Lucas McHugh, and we are about to have a lot of fun Edward."

For some reason it was getting harder for Ed to breath, almost as in the air in the small cage was slowly leaking out. His breaths stared to become ragged, and his vison started to blur. The boy was faintly aware that his captor, Lucas, was saying something, but he couldn't quite make out the words.

Earlier that day when that bastard of a Colonel had sent him to East City, Ed thought that his day couldn't get any worse. Man was he mistaken.

Ed's knees gave out from the lack of oxygen, and Ed found himself laying on the cold ground, clutching his neck. His lungs burned, and his vision darkened. It might have been his oxygen deprived brain, but Ed could've sworn he heard laughter before his vision became completely black.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was harder than necessary. I don't know why but this chapter gave me a really hard time. I had in written by Wednesday, then rewrote every single word for the next three days. I'm still not sure that I'm completely satisfied with this chapter, but I guess it'll have to do.*sigh* Any who...I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter more than I did. I also think that I'm going to change my update date to Sunday since that's basically when it's getting updated anyway. Until next week I guess.**

 **-ThePsychedelicBean**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own the plot, a laptop, and a really dark mind.**

* * *

It felt like an eternity before Colonel Roy Mustang reached the office of the Fuhrer of Amestris. It might as well have been since the Colonel felt 10 times older than when he left his office only five minutes ago. He stayed up the entire night trying to figure out everything he could about Lucas McHugh, and the lack of sleep was really taking its toll.

Roy was barely aware of the two synchronized salutes that he received from the soldiers that were posted outside the Fuhrer's office, and only became aware of them when the shorter of the two stopped him. "Colonel Mustang, what is your business here?" the soldier said, cutting off Roy's path to the office. "The Fuhrer is not expecting you today."

Roy sighed. He really hated that he didn't have a higher rank. If he were a General he'd be allowed to pass without a second glance, but that, however, was not the case. "I wish to speak to the Fuhrer about some potential danger that the Fullmetal Alchemist and a civilian may currently be in."

"I'm sorry sir, but the Fuhrer is full until 1800 hours this evening." The other soldier said. "We will, however, inform his Excellency that you visited."

The Fullmetal Alchemist was potentially in life threatening danger, and the Fuhrer was _too busy_? Roy felt rage boil up inside of him, and it took all of his self-control to keep from burning the two soldiers to a crisp. They were only following orders, he reminded himself. Plus, burning people to a crisp is usually frowned upon, and would earn him a title of "Rouge Alchemist."

"I see," the Colonel said, making sure to keep his face void of any emotion. "Shall I come back at 1800 hours then?"

"Yes sir, we will alert the Fuhrer of your appointment."

With that, the Colonel turned on his heel and began the journey back to his office. The government was corrupt. Roy had known this for a while, but here was nothing he could do about it. His rank was high enough to gain some respect among the many military officials, but among the higher ups he was nothing more than a lapdog, and he hated that. He hated feeling useless, but that's why he kept on fighting. If he gave up, then he'd always be useless. Nothing more than a wet match.

So that's why when he arrived back in his office he, one by one, sent every member of his team to the Fuhrers office until he got a phone call directly from that very same office. Smiling smugly, Roy answered. "You have reached the office of Colonel Roy Mustang, this is him speaking."

"Persistent aren't you Colonel?" the voice of the Fuhrer said. "This better be important, I'm am a very busy man you know."

"I can assure you that this is a matter of utmost importance, sir."

"Very well Colonel get on with it."

"I am sure that you know about the mine inspection that the Fullmetal Alchemist is currently conducting in East City."

"I gave the order Colonel, I don't see what the problem is."

"I'm sure that you are also aware of the recent threats to him also."

"Is this what this is about Colonel? The Fullmetal Alchemist is a highly skilled alchemist and is more than able to take care of himself."

"And I'm more than aware of that sir, but with this threat it just wouldn't be safe-"

"That is enough Colonel Mustang. So far there hasn't been any reason to withdrawal the mission, and I don't think there ever will be one. Have a good day Colonel." With that, the Fuhrer of Amestris hung up.

Roy sat at his desk with the receiver to his ear for a long time. He couldn't believe it. Fullmetal was in danger and there was nothing he could do about it. He was a wet match in every way possible, but what he didn't get was why the situation wasn't handled with more urgency. Roy thought for sure that the Fuhrer would risk anything for one of the militaries precious State Alchemists. Something wasn't right here and Roy was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Team, get your asses in here!" Roy yelled, followed by a hurried shuffle in the outer office.

The door to Mustang's inner office was soon thrown open, and his team hurried in to stand at attention in front of Roy's desk. "Sir." They all said, in perfect unison.

"At ease." As soon as those words were spoken, Mustang's team withdrew their salutes and relaxed. "As I'm sure all of you are aware, the Fuhrer has continuously refused our attempts to remove Fullmetal and his brother from the danger that they face in East City. He claims that there is no reason to withdrawal the mission, but I'm not buying it. However, our hands are tied. We are under strict orders not to leave Central."

"But we've got to do something sir." All attention in the room was drawn to Second Lieutenant Havoc. It was no secret that the Second Lieutenant was the closest person on the team to the brothers. The three of them would often play pranks on various members of the office, much to the Colonel's annoyance. If anyone would be affected by the current events, it would be Havoc.

"Honestly Lieutenant, do you even know me at all?" Mustang let a smug grin settle onto his face, before taking a commanding stance. "Breda, Falman, I want any and all information on this Lucas McHugh. Don't stop until you know the color of boxers he put on this morning."

"Sir." The two soldiers saluted, before scurrying off to do exactly what they were commanded.

"Fuery, I want you to contact General Grumman at Eastern Command and don't leave the line until you know exactly where Fullmetal is."

"Sir." Squeaked the young sergeant before following Breda and Falman into the outer office.

Finally, only Hawkeye and Havoc remained. Mustang let his grin widen when his eyes met his Second Lieutenants. "Havoc, I would like you to continue to make a couple well timed visits to the Fuhrer's office. Make sure that by the end of the day, all of us are on a train to East City."

"I'll try my best sir." A wide grin that mirrored Mustang's own spread across the Second Lieutenants face. If anyone was capable of annoying the Fuhrer into action, it was Havoc.

The Second Lieutenant turned on his heels to fulfil his duties, leaving Hawkeye alone with the Colonel. "I expect you to make sure these orders are fulfilled, Lieutenant."

"For once, I don't think that'll be a problem, sir." The First Lieutenant remained formal as ever, though Roy could catch the smile in her eyes. Indeed, the outer office was unusually quiet, save for the murmur of Fuery on the communicator. Everyone was desperate to make sure that the Elric brothers returned to Central safe and sound.

"You're dismissed Lieutenant."

Once Hawkeye had left, and the door to Mustang's inner office had slammed shut, the Colonel allowed himself to relax. He really did have a great team. Roy made a mental note to take them all out to dinner once this whole fiasco was over.

Mustang leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. "Don't worry Fullmetal, we're on our way."

* * *

 **Hey...long time no see. I'm so sorry for the delay on this update. My computer was having issues and it made it impossible for me to update. Anyway, I was going to originally have part of this chapter be in Ed's PoV, but this just ended in such a great spot, so you'll have to wait for Ed angst until the next chapter. Also, sorry for any OOCness, especially around the Fuhrer phone call scene. I had an impossibly hard time writing that part while trying to do the characters justice. Well I guess that's about it. Until the next chapter...**

 **-ThePsychedelicBean**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own the plot, a laptop, and a really dark mind.**

* * *

It had been about two hours since they had removed Alphonse Elric from the large duffel bag. The first thing he remembered thinking was that they were in a pediatric hospital. The floors were tiled in a checkered pattern of blue and red, while the walls were a sickly shade of green. Crudely drawn pictures of various animals, and various posters of cartoon characters lined the walls. There was a small blue counter on the farthest side of the room with various disposable medical supplies, and a hazardous waste bin. Al guessed the room was larger than what it appeared, but there was a pale blue curtain preventing him from seeing the other side.

A small groan from the bed in front of the suit of armor alerted Al to another presence in the room. Since his legs had been almost completely obliterated, Al had a hard time seeing over the end of the bed to the person who inhabited it, but he could just make out two feet, one flesh and one metal, as well as the tips of golden bangs. "Brother?" the suit of armor asked. "Ed are you awake?"

"Alphonse? Oh my god, Alphonse are you okay?" Ed began frantically pulling on the metal restraints that were around his legs and arms. From his angle, Al could see the faint transmutation marks that revealed that those restraints wouldn't come off unless someone wanted them to.

"I'm right here Ed, I'm okay."

"I'm sorry Al, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should've made you come with me. I never should have let you go alone."

"It's okay brother, really. It didn't even hurt."

Ed gave a small laugh. "Yeah, but it'll be a hell of an effort to fix."

The opening of the door in the corner cut off the brother's conversation. A faintly familiar woman wearing hospital scrubs and a clipboard walked into their room. Her hair was still up in a bun of golden hair, but this time she was missing the glasses. "You!" Alphonse snarled.

"Alphonse, what are you talking- "

"Good, you're up." Elara glanced down at her clipboard and wrote something. "The doctor will be very pleased to hear that."

"Listen lady," Ed said. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but I've got places to be and if I'm not in those places there will be some very nasty paperwork for me to fill out. So, if you don't mind taking these things off we can both go our separate ways and pretend like none of this happened."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Mr. Elric." Elara slowly turned towards the door and started walking away. "You haven't even seen the doctor yet."

With that, Elara let the door fall shut behind her with a click, and the two brothers could faintly hear the sound of a lock sliding into place.

A slam of a door and the unsettling silence that followed was the only warning Colonel Mustang got before the Fuhrer of Amestris barged into his office.

Sounding quite annoyed, the Fuhrer said, "You have five minutes to convince me to let you go to East City. Go."

The Colonel smiled. He could always count on Havoc to annoy someone into submission. "Sir, as you know the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, was sent to East City today to complete a mine inspection."

"Four minutes Colonel."

"I have reasonable suspicion to believe that Major Elric may be in serious danger. As you know, there have been some recent threats against Major Elric in East City. He hasn't been seen by anyone at Eastern Command and the only witness was a waitress at a noodle restaurant that said that she saw Major Elric 'curse, slam down some money, and run down the street.'"

"So you want me to send your team all the way to Easy City on the word of one waitress?" The Fuhrer frowned.

"No, I want you to send my team and I all the way to East City on the threat that something might happen to the Fullmetal Alchemist." Mustang let his voice raise a little, not caring about any consequences that might occur from insubordination. "Imagine what kind of revolt there would be if it got out that something happened to the youngest State Alchemist in history and the Fuhrer of Amestris did nothing to stop it."

The Fuhrer was silent for a while, clearly trying to decide whether he should punish the Colonel for this blatant insubordination. It felt like hours before the Fuhrer finally said something. "Your team stays here. You can go with a person of my choosing. You leave tomorrow morning on the 8:35 train, and I hear no more of this from anyone."

"Sir!" The Colonel saluted, trying not to let a smile creep onto his face.

"Good day Colonel Mustang." With that the Fuhrer turned and left the Colonels office, and Mustang finally let that smile settle on his face.

 _I'm coming Fullmetal._

* * *

 **A/N: Hey...long time no see right? Yeah...I'm sorry about basically not updating for a year. School got really crazy and I just had a really full schedule. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often now that it's summer. This chapter isn't in perfect quality, but I just wanted to get something out since I hadn't updated in a long time. Well anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until next week...**

 **-ThePsychedelicBean**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclamer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own the plot, a computer, and a really dark mind.**

"Rise and shine sunshine!" Ed jolted awake as a cold bucket of water was dumped on top of him. No, not a bucket of water. A bunch of water just materialized from thin air and fell on him. This was really not his day.

"Good morning Edward." It was only then that Ed noticed the woman standing next to him.

"Not you again. Listen…" Ed was cut off by a clap and another mysterious downpour from nowhere.

"I don't like your tone Mister." It was then that Ed noticed the black gloves with blue transmutation circles on the back that Elara was wearing.

"You're an alchemist?"

"Of course I'm an alchemist. Didn't Lucas tell you about us? No? Oh how rude of him…"

"Wait, Lucas? That's the bastard that…" Ed was cut off yet again by another clap and barrage of water.

"Though it seems like you don't have much of a respect for manners yourself."

"You're one to talk about…" This time instead of falling on top of him, a bubble of water formed around Ed's body, eliminating any source of air. He started to panic. What if she didn't let go? What if she just let him drown in that bubble of water? Ed started to pull on the restraints, desperately trying to get free.

"Stop! Let him go! I'm begging you!" Al's voice cut through the onslaught of thoughts that were coursing through Ed's mind. What kind of big brother was he? Maybe Al would be better off if he died. After all, what has he ever given him except for eternal damnation in a metal body?

After what felt like eternities, the bubble of water dropped to the floor with a splash. Ed frantically gasped for air, coughing up some water in the process.

"I really don't like being interrupted." Ed watched the other alchemist slowly walk past Al and to the other side of the bed. "Now, where was I? Oh yes, I was telling you about why I'm doing this." Elara paused, waiting for Ed to interrupt her again. When he didn't, she continued. "I don't want to brag, but I'd say that I'm a very skilled alchemist, and I love Amestris very much. I grew up right here in East City, you know. Well all throughout my childhood I dreamed of becoming a State Alchemist. So, I studied hard during my teenage years and perfected my specialty, and when I turn twenty I went to Central for the State Alchemist exam. They said they had no use for a water alchemist. I wasn't even allowed to show them what I could do."

Something changed in Elara, and her sorrow turned into anger. "Then you come along, barely twelve years old, and they make you a State Alchemist almost instantly. All just because they felt sorry for you and your brother. Well I don't have any pity for you and your silly metal limbs." Elara's eyes became manic, and Ed was starting to fear this woman. "Human Transmutation is a dangerous thing, isn't it Edward?"

"How-how do you know about that?"

"The signs are pretty obvious, aren't they? Metal arm, metal leg," Elara paused to glace at Al and smile. "Metal brother."

Ed supposed a soul attached to a suit of armor pretty much screamed, 'We attempted Human Transmutation', and his metal limbs didn't help his case all that much. But he was still curious as to how they figured out about the blood seal in the first place. Most people just assume that there is a person in that armor, but these alchemists aren't most people.

"Now let's show the government what a real alchemist looks like."

Then the water came, and it didn't stop for a very long time.

Colonel Mustang checked his watch for what seemed like the millionth time. Where was that idiot that the Fuhrer insisted come with him? It was 8:30 and they were going to miss their train. This was the Colonel's only chance to save Fullmetal, and he was going to blow it because that idiot was late.

"Um, Colonel Mustang sir." Mustang turned to see a scrawny Sergeant no older than twenty saluting him. "Sergeant Felix Wormington at your service, sir."

The Colonel just stared, dumbfounded, at the Sergeant. This was who the Fuhrer sent to help him find Fullmetal? Felix didn't look like he weighed an ounce over 100 pounds and had gelled back brown hair like a school boy. He also had giant circular wire-rimmed glasses that covered half of his face. Mustang was underwhelmed to say the least. He had expected a skilled soldier, or even another State Alchemist, not a glorified secretary.

"The Fuhrer sent you?" Mustang didn't intend on the question coming out that rudely, but there was really no other way for that question to come out.

"Yes sir. I know I'm not what you really expected, but I'm really good at tracking so I hope I'll be of some help."

Mustang was about to say something, but a loud whistle cut him off. "Come on, we are not missing that train."

The Colonel practically dragged Felix onto the train. There was no way in hell that that train was leaving without the both of them on it, and it didn't. Just as Mustang and Felix found a seat, the train started on it's long journey to East City.

"You better be a damn good tracker, because if anything happens to Fullmetal I will personally make your life a living nightmare."

"Yes sir." Felix tried to keep the fear out of his voice as he saluted the older man, but failed. Maybe he shouldn't try to scare the person who was here to help him, but Mustang was too angry to care. The Fuhrer obviously sent the most useless person with Mustang to prove something. What he was trying to prove, the Colonel didn't know. He only knew that now wasn't the time to prove points.

Mustang closed his eyes, trying to get some well needed sleep before they got to East City. However, a loud snore depleted any chances of sleep. The Colonel opened his eyes and glanced at Felix, who was out cold. Another monstrous snore told Mustang that this was going to be a very long train ride.

 **A/N: Okay so I literally just wrote this chapter tonight so it's not in its best quality. Once I'm finished with this story, I'll go back and edit everything and make it 10x better. I haven't updated in a while so I just wanted to update. I hope that you really enjoy this chapter and will keep reading my story. Until next time...**

 **-ThePsychedelicBean**


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